


Shibuya, Welcome to Shibuya

by Demonskull



Series: Arcana Swap AU [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, also my summaries fucking SUCK sorry yall, kobayakawa and ms chouno dont have character tags and theyre not there for very long, this rating changed and its fucking kamoshidas fault, trans mishima yuuki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-02-09 11:08:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12886593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demonskull/pseuds/Demonskull
Summary: Sakamoto Ryuji has been put on probation for punching a rapist, and now he's going to do it again, but like, with a demon this time.





	1. Everything Sucks Part 1

My dream was weird.

I was in what looked to be a prison, except with blue walls. I was lucid dreaming for once, so I looked at what I could of myself. I was wearing something resembling what someone in a jail in Western cartoons would wear, and I had chains on my hands and feet. I’m taken out of my wondering why by the sounds of footsteps.

Two young girls step into my field of vision - impaired by the door to the cell of course. They’re both wearing strange blue outfits with matching mirrored eyepatches. One has braided buns, and the other has a single, long ponytail. They both smile a little bit.

I stay silent as I walk toward them. They both move off to the side, and it’s then I notice a long-nosed man in a sharp black suit sitting at a desk in the center of the room. He has a wicked grin on his face and his eyes are bloodshot.

“Trickster,” He says, without breaking his grin, “Welcome to my Velvet Room.”

“So, you’ve come to, Inmate!” Says the girl with the buns. Her voice is soft.

“The you in reality is currently fast asleep,” Says the one with the ponytail, this one speaking to me as though she hates me, though I’ve never seen her before, “You are only experiencing this as a dream.”

“You’re in the presence of our Master! Stand up straight.” Says the other.

“Welcome. I am _delighted_ to make your acquaintance.” Says the long-nosed man, “This is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a contract may enter.”

Nothing you’re saying makes any sense, you old dick!!

“I am Igor, the Master of this place. Remember it well.” He continues to explain, “I summoned you here to speak of important matters. It involves your _life_ as well.”

“Why didn’t you just say that first?” I suddenly blurt out.

“Still, this is a surprise,” Igor keeps going like I didn’t even say anything, “The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such… You truly are a ‘prisoner’ of fate… In the near future, there is no mistake that _ruin_ awaits you.”

“You keep saying words that mean nothing to me. Make it simpler.”

“I speak of the end to everything… However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be “rehabilitated”. Rehabilitated toward freedom.” He kicks his leg a little as he speaks, as though the conversation is beginning to annoy him, “That is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?”

“Please, I’m so stupid, I don’t know what you’re saying.” I run a hand through my hair without thinking.

“You didn’t decline, hm? Very well, that is enough. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation.” As he finishes his sentence, the two girls spin around back into my field of vision. “Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others.”

“To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine,” He gestures to the bun girl and the ponytail girl respectively, “They serve as wardens here.”

“Hmph. Try and struggle as hard as you like.” Says Justine.

“The duty of Wardens is to protect inmates! We are also your collaborators. That is… If you remain obedient.” Says Caroline.

“I shall explain the role of these two at _another_ occasion,” Igor continues, “Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, _eventually_ …”

As he finishes, a strange bell rings.

“Time’s _up_. Now hurry up and go back to sleep.” Justine says, and before I can do so…

* * *

 

...I feel myself waking up, strangely disoriented.

Ruin… Rehabilitation…

These words swim in my mind. I think as to what Igor could have meant. Death? Or something else...

I’m snapped out of my thinking by a knocking from a little ways down the stairs.

“Can I come up?” Yoshida’s voice calls.

“Sure.” I call back down, stretching.

Yoshida frowns a bit when he sees my room, “You didn’t clean, huh?”

“Uh, sorry, I was real tired, so…” I manage a lopsided smile.

He just shakes his head a bit. “Put your uniform on, we’re going to meet the staff at your school today.”

“What? It’s so early!” It’s probably not, but still.

He just looks at me and says, “If you’re not ready in 15 minutes, I’m dragging you out by your hair.” And then he goes back downstairs.

Okay.

* * *

Before we even get inside, Yoshida’s pulling me on my arm and telling me “Behave yourself and don’t screw this up,” And it’s like I’m 7 again with my dad telling me not to be such a screw up. I try and push these thoughts out of my mind again because before I even know it, we’re inside and talking to the principal, the counselor, and my homeroom teacher.

“Just so we’re clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems.” The principal, Mr. Kobayakawa, says as Yoshida signs some papers as fast as he can. “Honestly, I hesitated on accepting you, but there were some circumstances on our side… You may have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here.”

I’m halfway tuning him out at this point, my hands balled into fists in my pocket and cutting crescents into my palms. I knew I was gonna be treated like shit, but I didn’t expect it from the principal, too.

“If you are thrown out of our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind.” He suddenly gestures to his right, gaining my attention again. “This is the teacher in charge of your class.”

There's a gaudily dressed woman with tanned skin and black hair on his right. 

“I’m Chouno Hiromi. Here’s your student I.D.” She passes it across the table, “Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office.”

Kobayakawa speaks up again, gesturing to his left, “And this is the school counselor, who will be keeping a close eye on you.”

This woman looks like a hippie. She has long, blonde hair pulled back by a headband, and she has a knee-length, purple dress with tie-dye blue and pink spots on it. She's also wearing black stockings.

“I’m Mifune Chihaya. Please come to me if you have any violent urges or even any questions!” Her tone is cheery, but there’s somehow an undertone that just screams ‘please god, don’t kill me’. “Though, if you cause an actual problem, neither me or Ms. Chouno can help you.’

What am I, a ticking time bomb? Fuckin’ hell.

“That IS your promise, right, Principal Kobayawawa?” Ms. Chouno chimes in again. Her voice is already starting to grate on me.

“Mhm. He is responsible for all his actions.” says Kobayakawa.

“Really, though! Why me? There should have been better candidates!” Ms. Chouno whines. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

“It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening.”

“If you’re done explaining things, mind if we get going?” Yoshida says. I’m saved! “I’ve got a store to get back to.”

“Yoshida-san, please keep an eye on him. Don’t let him cause any trouble outside.” Kobayakawa says.

“Well, I’ll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he’s in.”

“Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow!” Ms. Mifune smiles, and I realize she’s trying to act like my friend or something, “I’ll show you to your classroom, okay?”

I nod, and then Yoshida and I walk out silently.

When we’re near the door, he suddenly says, “They’re treating you like some kind of nuisance… Guess that’s what it means to have a criminal record,” Fucking preaching to the choir here, “Turns out your past follows you wherever you go.” He pauses for a few seconds.

“By the way, if you get expelled, I won’t hesitate you kick you out. Got it?” GOD. DAMN IT.

“I’ll be careful, Yoshida-san.” I simply reply, because I know if I say what I’m really thinking, he’ll really kick me out.

“School never changes, huh…” He sighs, “Come on. We’re going home.”

* * *

 

“The traffic isn’t moving at all. You’re taking the train starting tomorrow,” Yoshida growls, though he quickly adopts a softer tone, “So, how was it? The school, I mean. Think you’ll manage?”

“They treated me like I was gonna kill them at any moment, and I’m sure the students will be worse.” I say truthfully.

“That’s what happens when you punch some rando in the street,”  _ Rapist _ , I mentally correct, “Still, you were already expelled once. To think you’d re-enroll at a different school. It’s not like anyone can be sympathetic to you.”

I cross my arms and tap my fingers against them. Every conversation I’ve had with this guy has been terrible except one.

“If that’s what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future as well…” Yoshida mumbles, “What a troublesome kid I’ve taken in.”

“Why did you take me in, then?” I suddenly snap.

“I was  _ asked  _ to do it, and I just… Happened to agree. I’ve already been paid for it, after all.”

He goes silent after that, and I focus on the radio to have some kind of noise. It’s a news station.

“Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetale all across the-”

“Another accident?” Yoshida cuts in, “So that’s why it’s so crowded! There’s been a lot of those, lately.

* * *

Yoshida checks his phone as he comes in, with me following of course, “Jeez, what a gruesome accident. Eighty people were involved. But to think it would cause that much traffic…”

“I wasn’t even able to open the café today,” He remarks as he puts his phone in his pocket, “Whatever… Just go upstairs. I have something to give you.”

My blood pressure spikes for no reason, but I nod my head and go up anyway.

He walks up behind me and throws a small book on the table next to the stairs, “It’s a diary. Make sure you write in it. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you don’t break the law, but I need to report on you. It’s just easier if you do it yourself.”

Yoshida’s phone suddenly rings, some cheesy pop song played at a low volume. He answers quickly.

“Hey, what’s up?” He greets in the nicest tone I’ve ever heard from him. “I’m about to leave right now. Don’t worry. I’ll be there in no time.” Is it a girlfriend?! Wait, no. No. I don’t want to think about that, unthink it. “Uh-huh. I’ll see you soon.” And he hangs up.

“Well, I’ll be going now. I’ll lock up, so do whatever you want the rest of the night.” He thinks for a second, “Oh, but DON’T mess up the store. If anything’s missing in the morning, I’m calling the cops. And go to bed soon, okay? You have school in the morning.”

He walks down the stairs, and I walk over and grab the notebook, before realizing I don’t have a pen or pencil. I hear the door locking, though, so I guess I’m screwed for now. And I’m fuckin’ tired. Guess I’ll sleep and ask him for one in the morning?


	2. Initial Asskicking

My alarm blares and I silently thank god that I didn’t have that strange dream again.

I get my clothes on and run downstairs, slamming my hands on the counter (okay, maybe not,) and before I can say anything Yoshida place a plate of pancakes between my hands.

“Hurry up and eat before the customers start coming in.”

I sit down and stare at it for a little. My experience with being fed by people other than myself so far hasn’t been good. I hesitantly take a bite.

It’s the best damn pancake I’ve ever had. I start eating faster and finish it before I even know it. Suddenly I remember about the pen.

“You told me to write in my diary, but I don’t have anything to write with.”

“Why?” He quirks an eyebrow at me.

“They didn’t let me take any sharp objects.”

He puts a hand on his head and opens a drawer next to the fridge, rummaging through it before throwing a pen at me. I cover my face and somehow catch it without looking. Nice.

I check the time on my phone and realize I’m gonna miss the train if I don’t leave. Shit.

“Thanks for breakfast, Yoshida-san!” I call as I head out the door.

As I run to the station I go over the transfers. Yongen to Shibuya, Shibuya to Aoyama. How hard can it be?

* * *

 

As it turns out, very. How can so many people be going to the same place at once?! And, better question, how can so many people fit into one train car?! This is insane!

And of course it rains the ONE TIME I don’t have an umbrella. I take quick shelter under a storefronts awning. As I lean up against the window, it occurs to me I don’t know where the hell I’m going. I type the name of the school into my phone’s navigation app and check for directions. While I’m doing it, some red eye icon appears and takes up my screen. The hell?

I’m distracted when a boy -- who goes to Shujin and is a second year as well, judging by his uniform -- walks up next to me and shakes his hair out with his hands. My eyes are drawn to the huge bruise on the side of his face, which looks a few days old at this point. He’s otherwise unremarkable, though.

“Are you okay?” I ask, pointing to the side of his face.

He startles at the sound of my voice before nodding, “I got it in practice. Don’t worry.” And he smiles lightly.

I don’t say anything, but that puts me off a bit. I just smile back before focusing on my phone again.

Suddenly a car pulls up in front of us, and the window rolls down, revealing a strange-looking man in a blue tracksuit.

“Morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You’re gonna be late.” Says the strange guy.

“Sure. Thank you, sir.” Says the boy with the bruise, in a very obviously uncomfortable way.

The creepy guy suddenly looks at me and says, “Do you need a ride too?”

“No… Thank you?” I force out.

As the window rolls up, I notice the boy’s uncomfortable face, and I fight the urge to call the police or do something that would break my probation. What would I even tell them? He had a creepy vibe?

I hear the sound of someone running, and I look in the direction it’s coming from. It’s another second year from Shujin, this one looking like he’s on the verge of breaking dress code. He has long-ish hair and is wearing a face mask. His shirt has something I vaguely recognize on it, -- two people holding up a heart -- and he’s wearing fingerless gloves and studded white boots. He’s also at least three quarters of a foot taller than me.

“Damn it,” He says, “Fucking perv teacher.”

“Pervert teacher?” I repeat. I was actually right for once? Must be my lucky day. I notice distantly that my phone made a noise I don’t recognise.

The tacky boy spins around and glares at me, getting very close to me, seemingly scrutinizing my face, “What do  _ you  _ want? Planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida?”

“Okay, first of all, back up a little,” I push him as far away from me as I can without leaning forward, “And second of all, I don’t know who that is.”

He seems to realize something, “OH! Oh, you’re the transfer. That was Kamoshida, in the car just now.” He crosses his arms and leans back a little, “He does whatever he wants, like the king of a castle or something.”

“How did you know I was ‘the transfer’?” I make air-quotes as I say that last part.

“Ann told me.”

“Who?”

“She said you guys used to go to school together and stuff? Takamaki Ann?”

“Still not quite getting you.”

“Oh my god. Come on, the rains not that bad, you can meet her while we’re there, let’s just go before we’re late.” He spins in the other direction and-

Owww! My head hurts…

The guy clutches the side of his head and takes a deep breath before walking off. I stare dumbly for a bit before realizing he’s leading the way, and I run off after him, shoving my phone in my pocket.

He leads me through some narrow path and we reach a place that is obviously Not The School. It’s like a weird old timey castle.

“We went the right way… Right?” He seems to be asking himself moreso than me, “I… I know this was the right way. So maybe…” He walks in with a bit of confidence and I follow.

The inside is huge and lavish. Definitely a castle.

“Is this our school?” I question, peeking over his shoulder.

“It should be… But it doesn’t look like it.” He pulls out his phone, “No service? The hell is this… It said Shujin out front, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, I think.” Man, this guy changes topics quickly.

“You think?”

Suddenly we hear the sound of metal against metal, I look over and see a person in silver armor and a strange mask. They’re also carrying a large sword and a shield.

“Okay, that’s enough now, not funny.” Says the boy, “Nice costume, but you can’t scare me that easy, ‘kay?”

Another person in armor walks up to us, and I take a few steps closer to the tall boy.

“Are you trying to scare the new guy in his first day here, or just fuck with me, or both?” He leans back toward me and puts an arm out.

“I-Is this Shujin’s idea of a joke?”

“Not usually.”

The armored people close in on us, and the boy backs up into me.

“We’re going.” The boy states, his voice confident but his hands trembling. He grabs onto my shirt collar and pulls me with him, but we only make it about two steps before more armor guys come in. One of them bashes his shield into him, which sends us both falling.

I don’t remember what happens after that, but later…

“Hey,” Comes a familiar voice, and a hand shakes me by my shoulder, “Wake up. Hey!”

I struggle to get up, and I realize my head is pounding again. Why? We’re apparently in a jail cell of some sort, and I was laying on a wooden bed.

“Dude, are you okay?” Says the boy that almost got me killed.

“My head hurts.”

“That sucks, but I can’t really help you there… So--” A blood-curdling scream suddenly comes from nearby, “You’ve GOTTA be fucking kidding me. We need to get out of here.”

Some sloshing footsteps approach our cell, and we both run up to and look out the bars. It’s more armored people.

“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon” Says one of them, “Your charge is ‘unlawful entry’, thus you will be sentenced to death.”

“Death? Fucking  **_death?_ ** ”

“ _ Nobody _ is allowed to do what they please in  _ my  _ castle.” Comes a familiar voice. It’s the perv from earlier. In… A LOT less clothes. Okay.

“Wait. Is this something Kamoshida did?” He shakes his head, “No. Of course it is.”

“I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it’d be you, Kurusu. Are you trying to disobey me again?” Kamoshida smirks and my stomach turns. For some reason, I feel like I would sell my soul to kick him in the dick. “Looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all, huh? And you brought your boyfriend this time… You really can’t do anything for yourself, can you?” Wait, does he really think…?

“Shut up, bastard…” Kurusu grabs the side of his head and squeezes his eyes shut.

“Is  _ that  _ how you speak to a king? You really don’t understand the position you’re in at all, do you?” Kamoshida’s face goes gravely serious, “Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting  _ me _ , the king. The punishment for that is death.” He throws back his cape, revealing he’s not wearing anything except a bright pink speedo and I almost vomit in my mouth, “It’s time for an execution! Take him out!”

“Stop it…” Kurusu says, backing away from the cell door as they unlock it and close in on him, and then I can literally  _ see  _ his fight or flight kicking in as he slams into one of the guards and says, “Come on! We’re getting out of here!” And then another punches him in the stomach. He tries hard to stay standing, I can tell, but he can’t in the end. I try to help him but he just says, “Just go, damn it! I’m dead either way!”

“Running away, are we?” Kamoshida practically spits out, “What a heartless boyfriend you are.”

“He’s not…” Kurusu says, and I bite my lip, “Go on! Hurry up!”

“What’s the matter, too scared to run away?” Says Kamoshida, and I’m very quickly starting to get overwhelmed by this, “Pathetic scum isn’t worth my time, I’ll focus on this one’s execution.”

Two of the armored guards pick up Kurusu by his arms, and he doesn’t even struggle. And Kamoshida just starts wailing on him. I try and move closer, but the guard that isn’t holding him points his sword at me. Kamoshida punches him particularly hard in the stomach, and he falls to the floor with a groan of pain, and Kamoshida fucking  _ spits  _ on him.

“Where’d your energy from earlier go?” Kamoshida taunts, and one of the guards picks Kurusu up and throws him across the room, “A peasant like you isn’t worth beating. I’ll have you killed right now.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind?!” I blurt out.

“Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know who I am,” Kamoshida growls as he walks up to me and shoves his face in mine, “That look in your eyes irritates me.”

And he kicks me in the stomach and I fall to the floor.

“Hold him down. After the peasant, it’s his turn to die.”

Now it’s my turn for my fight or flight to kick in, and me being the dumb idiot that I am, I try to run. The guards that held Kurusu are holding me now, and I’m trying to struggle, but it just doesn’t work. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to displace myself from the situation.

“ _ This is truly an unjust game! _ ” Comes a soft yet passionate voice, “ _ Your chances of winning are almost none. _ ”

I open my eyes. The room is dark, except for a strange metal butterfly which the voice seems to be coming from.

“ _ But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you! _ ” Says the butterfly, and the room returns to ‘normal’.

Something like glass shattering sounds in my ears, and a much deeper voice comes.

“ _ Are you just going to sit there and watch? Are you forsaking this innocent boy to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing! Was your previous decision a mistake, then? _ ”

My previous decision? Saving that woman… Of course not.

I focus on Kurusu again, he’s lost all his fight and he’s just crying as the guard lifts him up and points his sword at his neck. I struggle against the guards holding me down and the voice says,

“ _ Very well. I have heeded your resolve. _ ” And, for the third time today, I get a splitting headache. But this is much worse. It’s like an animal inside my head is scratching to get out to the surface. “ _ Vow to me. I am thou, and thou art I, thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! _ ” The scratching in my head is reaching a boiling point, and my whole body is tingling so hard I can hear it, “ _ Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself! _ ”

The scratching has stopped, and it’s as though I’m seeing the world through new eyes. I stop struggling and as I can finally hear again, Kamoshida yells, “Execute him!”

“That’s enough.” I say, deadly serious.

“What was that?” Kamoshida says, and he and the guard holding Kurusu turn to look at me in unison, the guard finally letting him go, “You desire to be killed that much? Fine!” He nods toward me and the guard next to me bashes me with its shield, and it and the other one hold me against the wall with their spears.

As Kamoshida signals for the one with the sword to kill me, I gasp and rapid wind swirls around us.

There’s something on my face, and my brain is telling me get it off get it off GET IT OFF. I grab it and pull it hard, but it doesn’t move. I use all my strength to tear it off my face, and god it fucking HURTS. I’m screaming, I think, I can’t tell? And I feel like I’m about to see god. Blue flames encompass my body, the voice from earlier laughing in my ears.

The flames move behind me, but don’t disappear, and I don’t look because I feel like I already know what’s there. I throw my hands out, and a huge gust of wind blows through the cell again. Holy SHIT I feel so fucking powerful.

Kurusu’s looking up at me like he thinks I’m god, or maybe the thing behind me is, and Kamoshida kinda just scuttles away like he’s absolutely terrified.  _ Good _ .

“ _ I am the pillager of twilight-- “Lupin”! _ ” Says the voice again, “ _ I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you. _ ”

I look up at ‘Lupin’, and he’s almost exactly as I thought. A ram skull on top of a human skeleton dressed in 1900’s rich people clothes. Neat.

“ _ If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis. _ ”

“I’m not dying here. Give me your power.” I say, and Lupin chuckles.

“ _ Very well. _ ”

“Who the hell are you?!” Kamoshida suddenly yells, pointing at Lupin, “Guards! Start by killing that one!”

And then, two of the guards literally transform into jack o'lanterns with cloaks. I squint at this, but Lupin just chuckles again.

“You’ll learn the true strength of my men!” Kamoshida cackles.

Lupin places his hand on my shoulder and whispers in my ear, “ _ Detest the enemies before you. Change that animosity into power, and unleash it! _ ”

Easy. I already hated them. I point at one of them, and some sort of dark energy coalesces around it, and it seems to hurt it, somehow?

“ _ Good. Now, swing your blade! _ ”

I didn’t even notice until now that I have a butterfly knife in my hand. I run up close to the other one and slash it across the face.

“ _ This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want, run wild to your heart’s content! _ ”

The jack o’lanterns both lunge toward me then, and I dodge easily, stabbing one in the back as it passes by me, and it melts into inky black. The other one comes at me again, but I can’t dodge then. Luckily it only hurts a little. I stab this one too, just cause it’s close. I Lupin’s presence fades as I take a deep breath.

I feel a shift in the room as Kurusu says, “What the hell just happened?”

“You little…!” Kamoshida barks, and Kurusu finally gets up off the floor just to ram him in the side.

“You like that, dumb fuck?!” He kicks Kamoshida in the stomach for good measure. This is reminding me of myself.

“Kurusu, the keys!” I yell.

“Uh, okay!” He grabs them and we run out the door. He fumbles with the keys for a second before locking the door and nodding at me.

“Damn you!” Kamoshida yells, pressing himself against the cell door.

“Hey,” Kurusu says, clearly ignoring him, “What was that just now? And your clothes!”

I look down to see what he means, but there’s a flash of light and I just see what I came in here with.

“It went back to normal?!”

“You bastards!” Kamoshida yells again, rattling the door back and forth.

“Can’t you see we’re trying to have a conversation?!” Kurusu yells back at him, and then turns back to me, “Let’s get the fuck out of here already! I’ll follow, you lead!”

I nod and he throws the keys as hard as he can into what looks like a river. I run off as I realize I don’t know how we got here, Kamoshida screaming something incomprehensible at us.


	3. It's Time to Go Home

It’s not long until we reach a gate. I grab it and jiggle it back and forth. Locked. Why did he have to throw the keys?!

“Hey, I think we can jump across here.” Kurusu says, grabbing my attention. It’s a broken bridge, but the parts where it’s connected to the ground are closer together than the rest. “I could probably step across, actually.”

“Maybe you could throw me.” I chuckle.

“I think that’s a bad idea.”

I stare at him before taking a running jump, squeezing my eyes closed. When I open my eyes again, I’m fine, of course. Kurusu really doesn’t need to take much more than a single step, to my amazement. Tall people are weird.

The gate next to us is open, luckily. We don’t get very far before there’s more jumping stuff, but it looks easier. Kurusu goes before me this time.

“Be careful,” He says once he’s on the other side. Really encouraging. I jump across with no trouble, though.

On this side of the river, it looks like just more cells. One of them is open. Looks like it’s just for us. There’s a hole dug into the wall inside. I take a deep breath before getting on my hands and knees and crawling through. On the other side is… Another cell.

Once we get out, there’s another bridge, but this one’s intact. Something tells me to cross it, and when I do, I hear distant footsteps. I start running to the other side. There’s some stuff to hide behind when the footsteps get here. Guards, of course.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kurusu whispers.

I nod and look around to see where to go, and there’s a door right next to us. With all these lucky breaks, something bad’s gonna happen sooner or later. There’s a spiral staircase inside, and I run up as fast as I can. I can hear Kurusu puffing as he lags behind. I wait at the top of the stairs for him, and when he does come up, he looks like he’s dying.

“Wait I haven’t- I can’t run that fast.” He leans up against the wall as he speaks. I notice there’s a door next to him.

“Do you need a minute?”

“No I’m--” He coughs, then takes a deep breath, “I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.”

“Okay,” I say and push the door.

Inside, there’s another (maybe the same one) river and another gate. I hear Kurusu groan. We go through it, and there’s, of course, more cells. There’s also some cages hanging from the ceiling above the river with some other students wearing combination muzzle-face masks inside.

We keep walking, and there’s a bridge like a last one, except it’s drawn. There’s a statue of that Kamoshida guy next to it. We walk to the last cell on this side, and suddenly the smell of rubbing alcohol assaults my nose. I look into said cell, and I see this strange thing that doesn't look actually real.

It’s like if a cat... Wasn’t? It’s body is entirely black and it’s got this strange smile. But the most off-putting thing is that it only has one eye. One huge eye in the middle of its head. It’s wearing a bandana on its head, and another on its neck, and it’s also wearing a blue tank top and shorts with a utility belt. It’s trying to bandage up it’s arm with one hand and it isn’t going very well. And then it realizes we’re there, and it looks straight into my eyes.

“Hey. Get me out of here, would you?” It pleads, running up to the gate, and I realize this thing is almost as tall as I am, “The key’s _right there_ …”

“I don’t see why not.” Kurusu looks at me with one eyebrow quirked.

“Okay,” I run my hand through my hair, “Can you help us get out of here?”

“Yeah, yeah! If you let me out I’ll help!” This thing sounds desperate.

“We don’t have any real reason not to trust it.” Kurusu says. I nod and let it out.

“Finally! Freedom!” It mock stretches and yawns, I notice it’s mouth doesn’t move when it talks, “By the way, I’m Alibaba!”

“I’m Akira! Now let’s get the hell out of here!” Kurusu-- _Akira_ says.

“Yeah! Follow me, and stay quiet!”

Alibaba runs off to the bridge from before and we follow. She waits to make sure we’re watching before she pulls the mouth of the statue, which lowers it. The three of us run across, but there’s one of those guards at the other side. Akira stays back, making this weird noise. I flash with blue flames, and my clothes really do change. I feel Lupin’s presence around me again as well.

“Yeah, you should stay back,” Alibaba starts before turning to me, “You can fight, right? Back me up here. Elena!”

Alibaba strikes a fancy pose before a column of blinding blue light appears behind her. The thing that comes out of it is a person with pale blue skin and an off-shoulder dress so long you can’t even see their feet. They also carry a large sword and have a white hat and mask covering their face.

“Two of them?” I hear Akira gasp. Lupin chuckles in my ear.

The guard transforms into two different things-- a demon with a strap-on and another jack o’lantern-- which is mildly concerning.

“Let’s shut ‘em up!” Alibaba cheers.

“Okay!” I point at the new one, and Lupin attacks it like last time, but it seems to hurt it less?

“Tch, amateur! Watch this!” Alibaba pumps a fist in the air and Elena attacks the jack o’lantern with some kind of swirling wind. It falls to the floor for some reason. “If you hit the enemies’ weakness, they go down and you can hit them again!” She cackles a bit and runs up to it to strike it with her sword, killing it.

I go up to the other one and stab it, which kills that one as well. I feel Lupin get stronger, the air in the room calms, and I feel both Lupin and Elena’s presence leave.

“Your Persona’s pretty powerful.” Alibaba smiles at me, I think.

“Thank… You?” I smile back.

“What’s a Persona?” Akira runs back up to us, putting a hand on my shoulder. I squirm from his grasp. “Those things with the blue fire and poses and stuff?”

“Yeah! You saw how he ripped off his mask when he first summoned his, right?” Alibaba asks.

“How did you know--”

“Everybody wears a mask deep in their heart,” Alibaba completely ignores him, “By removing it--”

My clothes disappear in blue light again, interrupting her.

“I guess you don't have full control over your power yet? It shouldn’t normally dissolve li--”

“Stop, please, my brain is hurting.” I finally grumble. She talks too much.

“Ah, that reminds me, we don’t have time for this. We’re going, the exit isn’t far.” Alibaba starts running off again.

We run down a long corridor before reaching another bridge.

“Hey, I know where this uniform is from,” Akira says, looking into the cell closest to us. “It’s for the school’s volleyball team. I’ve never seen this guy before, though…”

“There!” Says a voice from across the bridge as it lowers. Another guard.

“Not again,” Alibaba groans.

“Are we gonna fight them?” I ask her.

“I guess.” She says.

The guard transforms into two tiny winged girls. Lupin joins me yet again, and he attacks one of them, killing it instantly. Elena attacks the other, nearly killing it. It comes up to me and scratches me across the face, like a cat scratch but worse. I stab it and it melts away.

Everything goes back to the way it was before.

“Alright, let’s get out of here already.” Alibaba says.

We follow Alibaba to what looks like where we came in. She takes us into a small library, though.

“And this is…?” I say.

“Our exit.” She says as though it was obvious.

“The vent,” Akira says.

“Yes! I thought the other one was the smart one but I guess not!”

I don’t have anything to say to that, she really is right. Akira climbs onto one of the bookcases and grabs the mesh of the vent and pulls it as hard as he can, and it just… Comes off. He throws it on the floor and jumps down.

“I’ll boost you two up, if you want.” Akira threads his fingers together and puts them close to the floor. I take him up on the offer, but Alibaba doesn’t.

“I’m staying here. I have some stuff to do. We’ll meet again, I think.”

“Thank you, I think.” I say to her, waving my hand a bit from the top of the bookcase before helping Akira up.

“See you soon.” Akira says, nodding his head.

* * *

When we get out of the castle, we’re in the real world again, I think. I pull out my phone and it confirms that yes, we are in the real world.

“Well, I feel like I had the fever dream of my fucking life,” Akira yells, but I don’t think he _knows_ he’s yelling, “And you know what? I don’t care.”

Two cops walk up to us. Fuck. Off. “Are you two students of Shujin? Are you cutting classes?” One of them says.

“No! Of course not! We, uh, got lost.” Akira says, scratching the back of his head.

The other one looks at me, “Are you his friend?”

“Yeah.”

“You should go to school. Take him with you, make sure he gets there.”

“I told you, we got lost. _I’m_ trying to show _him_ where to go!” Akira points at me.

“If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll have to contact your school. Do you want that?”

Akira looks at me, “Tell him!”

“Let’s go, Akira, we’re gonna get in trouble.”

“You!” Is all he says.

I turn around and start walking to the school to hide my stupid grin.

Akira finally catches up when I’m already there, leaning on the wall next to the gate.

“You can’t just leave me so suddenly!” Akira fake cries.

“I thought I was the one with abandonment issues.”

“We can both have abandonment issues!” He leans back and pulls his phone out, “Damn. Whether we skip the rest of the day or not we’re gonna get in trouble at this rate.”

“You seem so carefree, Kurusu.” Comes a familiar voice. Akira tenses up and I look over to where I heard it from. It’s Kamoshida. “Quite a difference from when you did morning practice.”

“We have to go,” I interject before Akira says anything, pulling on his sleeve as I start to walk up the stairs. He lets me, surprisingly. Also surprising is Kamoshida doesn’t do anything except stare as I walk right past him.

* * *

“I can wait outside if you want?” Akira says when I get to the faculty office. I let him go once we were inside, but he’s just been following me like he’s the lost one. “I’ll show you to your class once you’re done, or--”

“I’m fine, I’ll be fine. I know how to read signs.”

“Alright. Good luck. Or something…” He waves a bit and watches me go inside, but I hear him walk off once I’m in there.

It doesn’t take very long for me to find Mifune. She seems lost in thought or something, so I tap her on the shoulder.

“Mifune-san?”

“Um, yes?” She turns her head to look at me, “Oh, it’s you, Ryuji-kun!” _Why._ She fake-checks the time. “Why are you so late? Were you skipping classes?”

“I got lost.” I half-lie.

“They called me and said you were with Akira-kun. Shouldn’t he have shown you?”

“He’s the one who got me lost.”

“That doesn’t make sense, he walks here every day by himself.”

“He took me to a castle instead of the school.” If she’s not gonna believe me, I may as well tell the truth? She makes a weird face at that.

“Don’t hang out with Akira-kun too much, okay? He’s already hard enough to deal with as-is. I don’t want him getting in real trouble.”

Wow! Isn’t that nice? Isn’t that just amazing, what a great thing to say. I can tell I’m making a face because Mifune panics.

“Okay, uh, break’s almost over! Let’s get to class already! There’s only one more period, alright?” She hurriedly stands up.

* * *

“Try to make a good impression! Lie if you have to, but don’t say anything bad about yourself!” She says when we get to the door. Instead of saying anything I just nod and open the door.

When I walk in, everybody’s already talking about me like I’m not there. This is humiliating.

“Everyone, settle down,” Ms. Chouno says, “I’d like to introduce our new transfer student, Sakamoto Ryuji. He was sick this morning, so he had to stay home until now. Do you have some words, Sakamoto?”

“Thank you for having me.” I fake a smile. Some people whisper again, something about me looking calm.

“Alright, your seat will be…” Ms. Chouno looks over the class and points, “That one by the window. Can the people around him share your textbooks? Thank you!”

I sit where she pointed, the people around me trying to whisper about me without catching my attention. I notice the boy from this morning is sitting in front of me, and I tap him on the shoulder. He flinches, and turns to look at me.

“Can we share textbooks? I don’t think anyone else is gonna share with me, so…” I trail off. He just nods without saying anything.

“Right. The volleyball rally is in two days. Everybody changed classes, so use that time to get to know each other.” Ms. Chouno says, “Now that those are out of the way, let’s get started.”

* * *

 

After class is out (and Ms. Chouno told me to go straight home like I’m dumb or something), Akira joins back up with me.

“Follow me.” Is all he says before he starts running up the stairs. I guess I have to follow him.

As we run up the stairs, I catch more comments about me, including one about me being Akira’s “new boyfriend”. What’s with this boyfriend stuff? We reach a door that says it’s off limits, but he opens it like it’s nothing.

“Well?” Akira says, opening his arms wide.

“Well, what?”

“What did Mifune-san say?”

“She told me to leave you alone, and that you’re already hard enough to deal with.”

“Ah.” He says, and crosses his arms.

“I think she thinks I’m going to make you do crimes.”

“She thinks I’m gonna kill myself every time I breathe, so I wouldn’t be surprised.” He pauses for a second, “WAIT, THAT’S NOT WHAT I CAME UP HERE TO TALK ABOUT!!”

“Don’t yell, I’m right here.”

“You remember the castle right?!”

“Yes? It wasn’t even 2 hours ago?”

“I guess the both of us remembering isn't much, but it’s something!” I can tell he’s smiling from behind his mask, “You saved me in there, so thank you, Ryuji!”

“You’re welcome?” This is the first time he’s used my name and it’s kind of off-putting but not unwelcome, I guess.

“Uh, that’s… All I wanted to say. Sorry for dragging you up here so suddenly.” He scratches the side of his arm nervously, “I’ll talk to you if I see you around, okay? My dad’s probably waiting for me, so I gotta go.”

And he just runs off without waiting for a goodbye. Damn.

Guess I’ll go home.

* * *

 

“Hey, I got an _interesting_ call from your school today.” Yoshida says as I walk in the door, “Why were you so late? Can you explain that?”

“I’m sorry.” Is all I can say.

“You better be… Just behave yourself in the future. You know what’s going to happen if you don’t.”

“Right.”

Yoshida’s phone rings with the same song as last night, and I take that as my chance to run upstairs.


	4. All Three of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for misgendering and sexualization of minors  
> again if you apply naoto logic to this i will fucking skewer you.

When I wake up, I’m in that blue jail -- the Velvet Room -- again.

“You’ve finally come to,” Justine says as I sit up.

“Our Master wishes to speak with you! You better take what he says to heart.” Caroline advises.

“First off, let us celebrate our reunion,” Igor says, waving his hand around exaggeratedly, “Oh, you’ve awakened to your  _ powers _ . And special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin.”

“Why do you keep bringing me here to say things I don’t understand at me?” I question, and Igor kicks his foot at it, but otherwise ignores the question.

“You will be training the power of  _ Persona _ , which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a ‘mask’ -- an armor of the heart when confronting  _ worldly matters _ .” He taps his foot on the ground, “I have high expectations for you.”

“Is that something I should be proud of?”

“There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes.” He shifts in his seat puts a hand under his chin, “By the by, have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?  _ Using it  _ will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces.”

“You can’t just say words and hope I know what you mean. I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I bestowed it upon you as a means to train you as a thief.”

“Stop ignoring what I’m saying.”

“Stop being so disrespectful to our Master, inmate,” Justine growls, tapping her baton (which I am now uncomfortably aware of) on the ground. “If you knew what was best for you, you would be kneeling on the floor and thanking him for giving you such an amazing gift.”

“Devote yourself to your training! I’m sure our Master would love to see you turn into an amazing thief.” Caroline says, scribbling something down on a clipboard, “Us too, of course,”

“It must be  _ disheartening  _ to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone,” Igor continues without regard for either of them, “Should there be others who prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief.”

The bell rings as Igor finishes, Justine scoffing at it.

“It is time for you to leave. Go and enjoy whatever rest you may have,” She says, crossing her arms.

* * *

My alarm goes off and I hurry to get dressed and eat. The faster I do this new routine, the faster I get used to it. At least that’s what Yukiko always told me. I make sure that I carry an umbrella this time as I head to school, seeing the rain pouring out the window. Get on the train and get crushed, wait for my next train, get into another cramped train car. I read some stuff on my phone, ignoring the other passengers’ talk about the crash from yesterday. When I get there, I take Akira’s shortcut and secretly hope I’ll be back at the castle. I’m not, of course…

Class was boring. The social studies teacher called me on some Greek mythology thing I didn’t know, and the boy in front of me passed me a note with the answer, but otherwise nothing happened.

After class, Kamoshida was talking to him (something about taking him home) and I caught his name, and for some reason it stuck in my mind. Mishima. Mishima told him he had a part time job, and I knew he was lying, but Kamoshida bought it somehow. Kamoshida kept prodding him about some health problem or something, and I was starting to get sick to my stomach, so I decided I was going to leave.

Akira caught me at the gate, his eyes smiling like his mask, running up to me and throwing his arms around me.

“Hey.” He says, his voice half-stoic as usual.

“I’ve been ambushed! Help!” I fake-yell.

“Don’t say that, people will believe you.” He pulls back and crosses his arms, “So... I was thinking we should go back to the castle.”

“I knew you were gonna say that,” I grab part of my hair and idly twirl it in my fingers, “Actually, I was thinking about it this morning.”

“It’s so tempting, right? And plus, its related to that bastard. I wanna know what it’s really for,” He drops his arms to his sides and looks away from me, “I also don’t have anyone else I can come to for this, so we’re kind of stuck with each other, aren’t we?”

“Right. Us delinquents have to stick together.”

“Stop it.” He weakly slaps my arm, “Uh, so, maybe we should start by retracing our steps? We didn’t really do anything last time.”

We walk around to where we started yesterday, and then back to the school. Nothing.

“That’s weird.” I comment absently.

“Let’s go back and try again?” Akira scratches at his arm as he suggests this, and I just nod.

Nothing. Akira groans when we reach the school again before taking a deep breath and composing himself.

“Ah, your phone,” He seems to realize something, and he holds his hand out.

“What about it?” I question, taking it out of my bag and unlocking it.

“Give it to me,”

I hand him the phone and he starts swiping through it. I distantly worry he’s looking for something incriminating. He taps something and turns the phone around to show me.

“A navigation app,” He simply states.

“I don’t remember having one of those on my phone?”

“Well, you have one now. Oh, the castle’s in your search history!” He taps it, and the phone says it’s beginning navigation.

My vision swims and the school starts to look like the castle from yesterday. Once I can focus again, Akira starts running in, and I follow. He looks amazed, but he stays quiet.

“Hey, it’s you guys!” Alibaba pokes her head out from around a corner. “I knew you would come back.”

“We knew you would be here,” Akira tilts his head, “But where is ‘here’?”

“It’s Shujin Academy through the view of Kamoshida,” Alibaba puts a hand on her chin, “How did you get here if you don’t know where it is?”

“Walked,” I deadpan.

“There’s an app on his phone that brought us here.” Akira holds up my phone and I snatch it back from him.

Suddenly a scream comes from inside the castle. Akira swears and covers his ears.

“What was that?” I ask Alibaba, who is flicking her tail like she’s agitated.

“Probably the slaves inside. You guys made Kamoshida really mad, you know?” She says, and Akira shifts uncomfortably, “Although it’s not really out of the ordinary, except the frequency.”

“That figures,” Akira growls under his breath, “Is there anything we can do about it?”

“I was waiting for you to ask!” Alibaba’s smile seems to widen, and she closes her eye happily. “Follow me!”

She runs off to where she came from; the vent where we came out of yesterday. She simply grabs the bottom of the sill and hauls herself up, and it’s only then I realize how long her arms are. I run up to it and jump, and I somehow make it.

“No fair,” Akira complains, and I hold a hand out for him, helping him up.

Alibaba runs off as soon as we get inside, and we chase her down the hall and into the main foyer. To be honest, if this place wasn’t so gross, it’d be kinda pretty. We chase her through a door, and we end up in a spiral staircase. I make sure to go slow down the stairs so Akira doesn’t almost die again.

When we get to the main part, a shadow patrols through the gate. Alibaba puts a finger over her mouth and whispers, “We’re going to ambush them.”

She runs up to it and hops on its back as I run up. She grabs its mask and tears it off, and it transforms into one of those jack o’lanterns. She uses her wind skill on it, and while it’s down, I stab it, and it melts away.

“That was fast,” Akira comments as we start walking again.

“That’s what happens when you’re as good as I am!” Alibaba strikes a pose.

“I helped too,” I say.

“You did a good job,” Akira says, patting my shoulder awkwardly.

Footsteps start coming from the other end of the hall. Alibaba quickly looking around, her ears twitching. She opens a door next to us; it’s a dead end, but it’s probably safe.

“They won’t come in here. Kamoshida doesn’t have enough power in wherever this is in the real world.” She crosses her arms as she sits down on a table in the middle of the room.

“That makes sense, I guess.” Akira says and sits on the table as well, pulling his bag off and getting a water bottle out, “Oh, I just remembered,” He riffles through his bag and pulls out a bottle of something, some syringes, and… A gun? “These are for you. The gun’s fake but the medicine isn’t.”

“Where’d you get those?” I ask, taking them from him and shoving them in my pockets.

“My dad’s a doctor, and I know a guy.” He says, taking a drink of his water, “Better safe than sorry, as they say. I have a whole first aid kit in here, my dad doesn’t let me leave without it.”

“Can your dad be my dad?” I jokingly ask.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Akira chuckles.

“You guys, please, you have a whole real world you can do that in, I don’t need this!!” Alibaba complains. My eyes widen as I realize what I accidentally implied.

“Let’s go, I don’t hear anything outside anymore.” Akira scratches the back of his neck and puts his water back in his bag.

Alibaba hops off the table and pushes the door open, peeking out and looking around before running off. We had to sneak past a shadow, but getting to the next door was easy. We run through the halls, stopping when we see more shadows.

“Oh, let’s attack them. I have a theory I want to test,” Alibaba whispers to me.

I nod and run up to one of the shadows, striking it, and it turns into a winged girl and a girl who looks half flower.

“Use the gun, Ryuji!” Alibaba says, pointing at them.

“Um, okay!” I say, and grab the gun out of my pocket, aiming it at the winged one and pulling the trigger. To my surprise, it shoots a real bullet. She goes down, and I keep shooting until she dies.

“Oh, cool! I didn’t think that was going to work! Nice job!”

I nod and call Lupin to me, making him attack the flower girl with that shadowy stuff. Alibaba pulls out a slingshot and blinks (winks?) at me, before shooting her to death.

As we calm down, Akira asks, “How did you do that? That’s definitely not a real gun!”

“This is a cognitive world,” Alibaba starts to explain something, and I almost tune her out, “So if a weapon, fake or not,  _ looks  _ real, then to the enemy, it  _ is  _ real.”

“This is weird.” Akira simply states.

Alibaba runs off again. As we follow, I realize how much of a maze this place is. Before we reach the door,  there’s another shadow. We ambush it again. It’s just one of those winged girls. Easy.

“Hey, I’m gonna show you one more thing, ‘kay? And then you’ll be pretty much set. Down this enemy.” Alibaba says, and I make Lupin do that dark energy thing again. “Alright, now let’s do an All-Out Attack! We’re gonna beat the hell out of it!”

And we really just do beat the hell out of it. We kick her until she dies, which sounds kind of cruel, but she was pretty much dead on arrival. The air clears again and we go through the door. It’s a small room like the safe one we were in, but with another door on the other end, and a banner above the door. It says “Kamoshida’s Training Hall of Love”. We go through the door, and through the hall behind it. The cells there have people in them, tied up and being tortured by the shadow soldiers. Akira presses his face against the bars, looking in with a gasp.

“These are…” He trails off.

“Don’t get too attached. They aren’t real.” Alibaba crosses her arms.

“But these people are real. I know them.”

“You may, but they’re just… They’re clones. Or dolls?” She puts a hand on her chin, tail swishing slowly, “They’re the way he sees the real people they’re based on.”

“Like this place is how he sees the school?”

“Exactly! I knew you’d get it.” She closes her eye, “But that does mean something similar is happening in real life.”

“Ryuji,” Akira says, getting my attention again, “There’s not much we can do here, but let’s do something to fix this in real life.”

“Yeah!” I say, curling my hand into a fist. “Let’s get the hell out of here. The sooner we do, the sooner we can fix it!”

“Right! Lead the way, Ali!” Akira says.

Alibaba runs off, and we sneak around. The security’s tighter now, but she’s apparently extremely good at hiding. Eventually, we make it back to the foyer, but Kamoshida and his entourage seemed to be waiting for us.

“You knaves again?” He spits, “To think you’d make the same mistake twice. You’re hopeless!”

“This school isn’t your castle,” Akira says, a clear smirk in his voice, “You’re dead, give it up.”

“It seems it’s true when they say ‘barking dogs seldom bite’,” Kamoshida chuckles, “How far the star of the girls’ volleyball team has fallen.”

“Did you have to…? What are you getting at?!” Akira shouts, and I can tell he’s quickly losing his temper.

“I speak of the traitor who broke herself so she could leave, not thinking of her teammates, and making them suffer so she doesn’t have to.” Kamoshida’s grin as he says all this is sickening, “I can only imagine the pain you’ve caused others by being so selfish.”

“Shut up… You’re the one who’s hurting them.” Akira stares at the ground shamefully.

“Broke herself?” Akira winces at my words. Ah shit. He means Akira.

“What a surprise. You’re accompanying her without knowing anything at all?” Kamoshida’s smile somehow widens even more, seeming to split his face in half, giddy to tell me about whatever it is, “She broke her leg so she didn’t have to service me, but in the process she put her team in danger of having to do just that. And she still acts like she’s free to do whatever she pleases.”

“That’s not true… Someone else broke it,” Akira whimpers. He looks like he’s going to cave in on himself, tears in his eyes and his arms crossed protectively over his chest.

“You’ve come along with this fool, and are now going to end up dead. How unlucky of you.” He starts to walk off, and I feel like I’m about to boil over with rage at this point, “Go, kill them all. Don’t sully my castle with garbage.”

Some of the guards turn into horses with ram horns, and others stay the same, ready to turn at a moments’ notice. Three of them surround me and Alibaba, and she huffs in frustration. They immediately start attacking us, and I make Lupin bash into one of them when I have a second, Alibaba going the standard route of just slicing them with her sword. They attack us again, and Alibaba falls, I try to evade, but one hits me in the stomach and I can’t get back up.

“You son of a--” Alibaba starts, but Kamoshida slams his foot down on her back, knocking the wind out of her. I feel a foot on mine, too.

I pathetically look up at Akira, who’s sitting on his knees and crying now.

“I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this, isn’t that right?” Kamoshida nods in Akira’s direction.

“No…” Akira says, wiping his eyes when he notices I’m looking.

“What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly. Not good enough as a slut, not good enough to save your friends... You’re pathetic.”

“Stop, stop, please!” Akira starts crying again, “You ruin everything for me! I can’t even have friends without you ruining them or telling them things that’ll make them hate me!”

“Tch. I don’t tell anyone anything. You can thank Takamaki for that; I have her wrapped around my little finger.” Kamoshida cackles.

Akira doesn’t even respond, he’s too far into hysterics, bawling his eyes out and hiccuping.

“Ah, don’t worry. Once these two are dealt with, you’re next. Your suffering won’t last much longer.”

“Akira!” I shout, “Fight back! You can do it, you can!”

“Yeah!” Alibaba shouts too, a slight tremor in her voice, but it’s confident nonetheless.

Akira gives one last hiccup, but his tears stop as soon at I say that. He looks up at me, rubbing his eye.

“You’re right.” His voice is scratchy, and his breathing is weird, but he knows what he’s saying is true, “Everything good I had was taken by him… The rage I feel about it defines me.”

“Stay there and watch,” Kamoshida acts like he didn’t hear, “Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you.”

“No. That’s what you are.” Akira stands up as he speaks, not leaning one way or the other for once but really standing, “All you think about is using people. You’re a disgusting scumbag, and you will never,  _ NEVER _ , redeem yourself.”

“What are you doing?! Silence her!” Kamoshida yells.

Akira gets in his face, close enough to bite, and his eyes widen wildly, his smile so wide it peeks out from his mask.

“Stop looking down on me like I’m shit between your toes, I’m god compared to you, and you know it.”

A voice booms throughout the room, a version of Akira’s but not exactly.

“ _ You made me wait quite a while, _ ” Akira grabs his head and sinks to the floor, his breathing more labored than before, “ _ You finally want my powers as your own. Let us form a pact. _ ” Akira makes weak noises of pain,  his eyes glowing a bright yellow like Kamoshida’s, “ _ Your name has already been disgraced, so why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The ‘other you’ who resides within desires it thus. _ ” His pained noises have escalated to full-blown screams at this point, and the voice sounds giddy to finish, “ _ I am thou, thou art I. No turning back… Let us rejoice in your self-healing. _ ”

A metal bird-like mask appears on his face in a flash of blue flame, and he becomes quiet again. He pulls the mask off his face in just a few pulls, his body encased in blue flames. When the flames lift enough to see him, he’s slumped over with his Persona, some kind of demon lounging on a boat in captain’s clothes, behind him. Akira himself is in some kind of raven costume with a lot of belts, and he’s smiling wildly.

‘Wait, his mask?! I’ve never seen his whole face before… It’s kind of scary.’

Kamoshida and his minion let us go, fortunately.

“Nice! If I had known how good this felt, I would have let you do this ages ago!” He seems to be… Talking to his Persona? “Let’s fucking GO!! Payback time!”

“Don’t mock me, brat!” Says the knight in gold. He transforms into a red knight on a horse.

“Let’s get them, Kidd!” Akira shouts.

Akira points at the knight, and Kidd attacks it with lightning for a pretty decent amount. I make Lupin bash into it, which leaves it almost dead. Alibaba and Elena put the final nail in the coffin and make a whirlwind around it, killing it. Akira puts his arm on my shoulder as the tension fades.

“Woah… All three of us. How rare do you think that is?” Alibaba gushes.

“You bastard. Even if you get down on your knees and lick my shoes, I won’t forgive you.” Akira says with a severe edge to his voice, seemingly ignoring Alibaba in favor of continuing to torment Kamoshida.

“I told you, this is my castle. It seems you still don’t understand.” Kamoshida says, flaring his cape (robe?) out.

A boy in nothing but a thong and a pair of cat ears walks up next to him, proudly showing himself off, and holding Kamoshida’s shoulder. Wait… That’s Mishima, from earlier. I’m going to vomit.

“Wait, Yuuki?! Oh god.” Akira covers his eyes. Alibaba has completely turned herself around. I can’t look away.

“Pedophile rapist bitch, die already,” Is all I can say. Akira nods, but says nothing.

“How many times must I tell you before you understand?” Kamoshida says as he grabs Yuuki’s chin, who seems absolutely delighted by it, “This is MY castle, a place where I can do whatever I want. Can’t you see he loves this?”

“This isn’t real, he’s not the real Yuuki. He’s not,” Akira grits his teeth.

“You’re right. He’s the same as the slaves.” Alibaba sighs, “Doesn’t make me want to bleach my eye any less, though.”

“Clean them up this instant!” Kamoshida demands. Three shadows appear in front of us.

“We’re outnumbered! Let’s get the fuck out of here!” I yell, running off with Akira, Alibaba following after.

Once we’re outside, everybody takes a second to breathe and try to forget.

“Whatever the hell that was, I don’t like it. Is that the way he sees Yuuki?” Akira lifts his mask up and bites his thumb’s nail.

“Yes. Can we stop talking about it now?” Alibaba pleads.

Thankfully, some guards inside looking for us make Akira shut up. We wait until we’re sure to start talking again.

“Are we gonna be screwed in real life, Ali?” Akira asks nervously.

“Nope! He doesn’t know what’s going on here.”

“Good. Let’s go, Ryuji.”

“ _ Wait, _ ” Alibaba hisses, “I helped you, you guys have to help me now. I have to erase the distortion from my body, and regain my true form.”

“Your true form?” I question.

“...I don’t know what it is yet.”

“Okay! When you find out, come tell us, we have stuff to do.” I smile, and start walking out, Akira following behind.

“HEY,  _ HEY _ !!” Alibaba yells, but it’s too late, we’re already going back to the real world.

* * *

“Oh my god, I feel like I took horse tranquilizers.” Akira whines.

“I’m fine,” I say simply.

“God, I wish I were you.” Akira sighs, “Okay, starting tomorrow, we’re gonna look for evidence. Right now… We’re gonna go get something eat. I’m starved.”

* * *

“...Damn. I don’t have anything to say to that.” Akira says, and it’s nice to see his mouth when he talks, his snake bites are cute. I just told him my Tragic Backstory, because I know his now and that’s only fair, “Sucks, I guess. Can’t change it.”

“Life sucks,” I say before stuffing more noodles in my face.

“Hmm… Fair,” He says, staring into his bowl, “The place you’re living is in Yongen, right?”

“Yeah, the café,”

“I live, like, you know those apartments down the street? There.” He points vaguely with his chopsticks. I think I know where he’s talking about.

“Neat,”

“My dad can take you home when he takes me home if you want? He drives me home instead of me walking or taking the train.” He eats a bit as he waits for my response.

“Please, I’m dying, the trains are so cramped.”

“I can take the train with you in the mornings if you want.”

“Please,”

“Okay. Let me text my dad to pick us up in a few.” He pulls out his phone, “Oh, oh! Put your contact stuff in my phone.”

He shoves his phone in my face with a smile, and I do as he says, texting myself with his phone for good measure.

* * *

I wave Akira and his dad -- a man somehow taller than him, also with an affinity for dust masks -- goodbye as I walk into Le Noir, bracing myself for being yelled at.

“Who are you waving at?” Yoshida growls as I walk in.

“My friend,”

“If you have a friend, I assume you want to school today?”

“Yes, sir,”

“...Sir?”

“Yoshida-san,”

_ Pi-Pi-Pi! _

Akira just saved my ass! I run upstairs and check what he said.

_ <Counting on you tomorrow _

_ <Get some rest. See you in the morning _

_ see you!!!> _

Suddenly I’m really tired. Guess I’ll sleep.


	5. Everything Sucks Part 2

“Welcome to my Velvet Room,” Igor says before I even realize I’m there, “I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight. That is why I have summoned you. What are your thoughts? Are you becoming accustomed to this place?”

“Sure, I guess? Not like I have a choice.” I grumble.

“Glad to hear it. It seems you have nerves of steel,” Igor taps his fingers on his desk, “Your rehabilitation determines if ruin can be stopped. Yet, such a feat cannot be done by you alone. You entered a partnership with someone who awoke to the same power, haven’t you?”

“You mean Akira?”

“Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for  _ your  _ recovery. You’ve done well… That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships,” Igor gestures toward me, “It must not be one of frivolity, but a  _ ring  _ of those who would, by morals or faith, lend you their strength. In other words, they are bonds with those who have been robbed of their places to belong. The expansion of said ring will, in return, help you mature as well.”

“Wouldn’t it literally easier to say things plainly instead of making up metaphors so complicated I can barely understand you?”

“Personas are the strength of heart,” Caroline says, trying to explain it so I can understand, “The stronger the bonds that surround you, the more power your Personas will gain!”

“There are countless people in this city who have talents a weakling like you doesn’t,” Justine begins, “If you can somehow -- unlikable as you are -- get them on your side, we can change that into power.”

“What’s your damn problem? Did your Master not tell you, you don’t say that shit out loud?” I cross my arms at her childishly.

“You should be prepared to use even myself, or your ambitions will not come to fruition,” Igor cuts in like nothing happened, “You will understand it all in due time. Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation.”

“Now, this conversation’s over,” Justine snaps, “Get lost, inmate.”

* * *

I fell asleep through my morning classes, and for some reason in the afternoon it was mandatory to go to the volleyball thing. I sit next to Akira on the floor so nobody bothers us. He watches intently as Kamoshida spikes that Yuuki kid in the chest, his expression hard to place even with his mask pulled down. Everybody praises Kamoshida, but I notice nobody helps Yuuki up or anything.

Akira taps me on the shoulder, pointing at some blonde girl idly messing with her hair, pulled into a single ponytail that rests on her shoulder. She looks familiar, but I can’t place it.

“She’s been asking me about you. Takamaki Ann still doesn’t ring a bell?” Akira raises an eyebrow.

“I feel like I know her, I guess,” I begin to play with my hair as well. “How long does this go on for?”

He can’t give me an answer, because he panics and tenses up like he’s going to stand up or something. I follow his gaze, and Yuuki’s on the floor again. Is Kamoshida hitting him on purpose? Kamoshida ducks under the net and helps someone get him to the nurse, but he’s still being pretty rough with him, pulling on his arm like he’s a ragdoll. For some reason, once he’s gone, the match resumes like nothing happened.

* * *

Once we’re free to go, Akira brings me out to the courtyard, pulling his mask back over his face. Nobody’s around, but it seems like he’s anxious not to be heard or have anyone know we’re talking.

“I think now’s a good time to go look for evidence. You’re coming with me.” He states simply.

“Why do we need to look for evidence if you know Mishima?” I question, and he furrows his brow, “Why can’t we use YOU as evidence?”

“Nobody believes me, and nobody believes him,” He digs his phone out of his pocket, “Nobody will believe you either, so we’re gonna record them.”

“Won’t they get suspicious?”

Akira covers his eyes before dragging his hands down his face, “Ryuji, I have a question for you. Are you deaf?”

“No?”

“Then you should have heard, people think you’re a murderer. We’re going to be lucky if anybody talks to us at all.”

I breathe in like I have something to say, but I don’t know what it was going to be. We awkwardly stand there for a moment before Akira walks back inside.

* * *

Of course, the whole team kept their lips sealed. Akira and I find ourselves waiting in front of the school gate to ask Ann questions as well, because we couldn’t find her.

“It was like this when I was on the team too,” Akira sighs, “I guess some things never really change.”

“You never told anyone either?” I say, staring at my phone, but not really reading the words, to avoid eye contact.

“I mean, I did. Only after I left, though,” He crosses his arms protectively, “He told me if I told anyone he would beat the shit out of me, or worse. In hindsight it was stupid to believe, but…”

I lock my phone and look at him, “I don’t think that’s stupid,”

“I,” He begins, before stopping himself.

I barely notice as Ann and some other girl walk past us, their hands threaded together as they talk to each other in English.

“Ann! Suzui-chan!” Akira calls, running after them. Suzui pulls her hand away with a flinch as I walk up.

“You finally found him,” Ann teases before putting a hand on her hip, “Remember me, from 7th grade?”

“I guess,” I say, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“We wanted to ask you, do you know anything about the volleyball team?” Akira questions, slyly pulling his phone out and pressing record. Suzui grabs Ann’s arm, but stays quiet.

“No, not really,” Ann plays with the edge of her jacket as she speaks, “Not anything you don’t already know, I guess.”

“Suzui, how did you get that bruise?” I ask, pointing to her arm.

“Practice,” She says, pointedly not looking me in the face.

“What about this one?” I ask, pointing to one on her neck that makes her look like she was strangled.

“Stop,” Ann smacks my hand away.

“No, Suzui, answer the question.” Akira tilts his head.

“Stop… This is weird.” Suzui says, squeezing Ann’s arm.

Ann says something in English and Suzui nods. Akira says something back and Ann makes a weird face before taking her arm out of Suzui’s grasp in favor of wrapping it around her side and leaving.

I tap Akira, “What did she say?”

“To not ask them weird questions like that.”

“I guess I was a little, um…” I trail off.


	6. I See Now

You ever get a text, or otherwise read something, that makes you so terrified, and you can’t even place why?

Well, I just got one of those. In the middle of class. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I take my phone out as discreetly as I can.

_ <Come onto the roof when you have a minute _

What the fuck? My phone buzzes again.

_ <It’s nothing bad. Lol _

The whole way through the rest of my classes, I was watching the clock, not paying attention at all. As soon as the bell rings, I scramble to get out of my desk and up the stairs, weaving through the first-years giving me dirty looks. I push the door open, Akira waving his hand as he sits cross-legged on one of the desks. In his lap is… a cat with one of those weird shirts on.

“Did you call me up here to show me your cat?” I say, raking my hand through my hair.

The cat pokes its head up and says, in a voice that’s eerily familiar, “Ryuji, you don’t recognize me?”

I’m speechless. Completely speechless. This cat is Alibaba.

“So Ali and I were talking, and we made a plan,” Akira starts.

“Don’t say it so casually!!” I cut him off, “How is she even here?!”

“I thought really hard about being here, and then I was.” Alibaba says matter-of-factly.

“Okay, so, _as I was saying_ , me and Ali made a plan,” Akira hits his palm with his fist, “We’re gonna beat the shit out of King Kamoshida.”

“That will make him give up his distorted desires,” Alibaba stretches, “Or it could kill him.”

“I wouldn’t mind either of those,” I say as I sit down next to Akira, scratching Alibaba’s chin.

“Not like we have a choice,” Akira closes his eyes, perhaps somberly, “Nobody’s saying anything worthwhile. And we aren’t just going to let them suffer, right?”

“Right,”

Akira’s phone goes off, and he moves Alibaba off his lap and hops off the desk, checking what it says. His eyes widen, and he runs to the door.

“I c-- We can’t take you home today. Sorry.” He says, and then he just leaves without further explanation.

Okay.

* * *

On the train from the school, I’m packed in next to a familiar face. Yuuki. He stares out the window, seemingly spaced out. He glances over at me a few times, that spaced out look on his face still there. When the train doors open, he grabs onto my arm and pulls me off with him. For such a small guy, he’s surprisingly strong.

“Where are we--” I start.

“I know what you and Akira are trying to do,” He says simply, without looking at me. “I can help you, but you need to help me.”

He runs off to a gate I’ve never been through, swiping his keycard and shoving me into the train car with him. Eventually he pulls me to an apartment, unlocking the door and shoving me through. He sinks to the floor after locking it again, sighing heavily.

“Thank you,” He says, clearly trying to even out his breathing.

“You’re welcome?” I say, toeing off my shoes, “Pardon my intrusion.”

“I thought-” He takes a deep breath, “I thought he was going to kill me. So I had you walk me home. That was rude of me, wasn’t it?”

“No, of course not.”

“Okay,” He runs a hand over his face, “Okay, you can ask me whatever you want.”

“I don’t have a question,” I grab a lock of my hair and twirl it between my fingers, “Just tell me what you know about Kamoshida.”

“What I know?” He makes this face like he’s thinking about what to say, “He does whatever he wants with no consequences. He keeps video evidence of what we do on his phone and he holds it over my head like I started it.”

He pulls down the collar of his sweater, exposing his neck, which is covered in bite marks. His expression remains blank.

“He asked me to come to his office after practice. For the first time today, I said ‘no’. I know that means tomorrow, he’s going to give me hell.” Yuuki pauses, rubbing one arm and breathing hard, “And you know what? I don’t care. The only reason I put up with this is because I really do love volleyball, but… I think I’m going to kill myself.”

“What, no, don’t do that?” I panic, grabbing one of his hands, “You can’t! I’ll fix this. You don’t have to do that.”

He stares down at our hands, “I have no reason to live. Everything that happens to me is just adding onto my list of reasons, at this point. Nothing ever changes, I was a failure as a child, and I’m a failure now.” He smiles weakly, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I guess I trust you because you’re Akira’s friend. Don’t… Don’t tell him about this, okay?”

“I won’t,” I say, squeezing his hand, “Just… Don’t kill yourself yet, please. Please.”

I don’t even know this guy and I’m already attached.

“You’re not a bad person,” He says, “All the rumors are wrong, you can’t be as terrible as they say.”

“All I did was punch a rapist, I don’t get it?”

“Ha ha,” He looks away from me, wiggling his hand out of mine, “You should leave, or else you won’t catch the train home. My dad would kill me if he found out I had anybody over.”

* * *

Yoshida stands up as I walk in the door, more concerned than livid apparently, “Where were you?!”

“Out with a friend,” I cross my arms.

“You could have at least called!” He spreads his arms out dramatically.

“Sorry?”

“Seriously, I have stuff I have to be doing this time of night and I had to wait for you. I thought something really bad happened.”

“I’m really sorry,”

“Just don’t do that again. Call if you’re gonna be home late.”

“I get it.”

* * *

The next day, during morning classes, everybody suddenly starts making a fuss. But what really snaps me out of my daydreaming is Yuuki getting up and running out the door. Naturally, I follow. I press my face up to the window so I can see, the crowd parting so nobody has to be around me.

It’s Suzui, from the other day. She managed to get herself over the fence and she’s standing on the edge of the roof. She pauses for a moment, seeming to take in the sight from there, and then she lets herself fall.

I’m overcome with the urge to go down and see if she’s okay. I race down the stairs and out the door, meeting up with Akira, who was already outside. Suzui’s about to get on an ambulance, Ann by her side, holding her hand and whispering to her. Something about love… A promise… And Kamoshida?

I tug on Akira’s sleeve to get his attention, and it actually takes a bit for it to register.

“Can you tell me about Suzui?” I ask once I have his attention.

“Uh, Kamoshida used to take turns with her and me. I think he still might, just with like… Yuuki or someone. Why?” He says, his voice kind of detached as though he isn’t in his body.

That’s all I need. I start running back inside, hearing Akira and someone else tail behind me, but I don’t care. Kamoshida’s fucking Getting It now. I see where to go in my mind’s eye, my feet taking me there without my brain really having to tell them. I run through the door, but before I can do anything, someone grabs my arms.

“You bastard! Let me go! I’ll fucking kill him!” I can’t even control myself now, I’m crying but I don’t know why.

“Stop already!” Akira says, his voice clearly worried, “Calm down! You’re gonna get yourself in trouble!”

That snaps me back to reality. What the fuck am I doing?

“What you did wasn’t coaching.” Someone else says… Yuuki.

“What are you all going on about?” Kamoshida almost yells, Akira letting me go in surprise.

“You made me call Suzui here… What you did was what you were going to do to me, wasn’t it?” Yuuki avoids eye contact with any of us, a noticeable shake to his voice.

“You’re going on and on about things you have no proof of,” Kamoshida stands up, and I notice he’s towering over all of us, “You’re simply making these claims because you can’t be a regular on the team, right?”

“How did you come to that conclusion?!” Yuuki holds his ground, taking a defensive stance.

“Even if it is exactly how you imagine it to be, what are you going to do about it? We got a call from the hospital. Suzui’s in a coma, and she has little chance of recovery. How is someone like that going to make a statement?” Akira and Yuuki are taken aback by this, Akira clearly making fists in his pockets, and Kamoshida just keeps going, “There’s no chance of her getting better, I hear. Poor girl.”

I need to shut him up. I pull back for a punch, and Akira grabs me again. I glare at him, and all he does is stare back and shake his head.

“Why did you do that? There’s no need to hold back, just attack me. Oh, but you can’t! Of course you can’t,” He sits back at his desk, “Everyone here will be expelled. I’m reporting all of you at the next board meeting. Go say your goodbyes.”

“You- You can’t make a decision like that single-handedly!” Yuuki yells, seeming unsure of himself.

“Who would seriously consider what scum like you say? You all threatened me with violence, and you _sluts_ are friends with this disgusting criminal.”

“You can’t call us that,” Akira says, curling in on himself a bit.

“I would say I should have just made you both leave the team, but you’re at least good for something. Like you, Mishima! You leaked Sakamoto here’s criminal record, didn’t you?”

“That’s… You made me do it. Please don’t…” Yuuki grabs onto Akira’s arm, and I can tell Akira’s biting his tongue.

“Are we done here? You’re all expelled.” Kamoshida waves his arm dismissively, “You’re done for; your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight.”

We do, however reluctantly. As soon as the door shuts, Yuuki starts bawling into Akira’s chest, Akira awkwardly stroking his back. We share a long look, and I know he knows what I’m thinking.

* * *

“Ahh, feels good to be in this form again,” Alibaba stretches as we get into the castle.

“Let’s do this fast, we don’t have a lot of time.” Akira says, smoothing out his costume.

“What the hell?” Comes Yuuki’s voice, and a shudder runs down my spine. The real Yuuki (thank god) comes running up to us.

“Yeah, what the hell, how are you _here_?” Akira shoves his mask up, his face incredulous.

“Oh, it’s you guys!” He points at me, his eyes wide.

“I think he’s in here because he was next to us when we came.” Alibaba steeples her fingers.

“Isn’t that like, a real problem?” I put a hand over my mouth.

“Is this related to Kamoshida?” Yuuki asks, looking around like he’s in Destinyland or something.

“You have to leave,” Akira says, picking him up bridal-style.

“Hey, hey!! Wait, I won’t be a bother?!” He waves his arms around, but he can’t struggle from Akira’s grasp. Akira forces him over the threshold so he goes back, and then walks back all sly like nothing happened.

“Alright, now that that’s over with… We’re counting on you, Ace.” Alibaba does a thumbs up at me.

“Ace?” I smile weirdly at the nickname.

“It’s a codename! We can’t use our real names, of course. I’m Ali, you’re Ace, and he’s… Uh…”

“Corvid,” Akira suggests.

“Okay! He’s Corvid. Let’s go already!” Ali runs to the window we went in before and hops in.

Inside, the main hall is filled with shadows, so we go through another door, which of course also has a shadow in it. Three against one isn’t bad though.

“Before we go in, I want to teach you guys one last thing.” Ali whispers.

“Enough already,” Corvid whines.

Ali nods and runs to rip the shadow’s mask off. It’s the winged girl I’ve seen a million times.

“We can talk to them,” Ali says, shooting her, “They don’t want to die, so they’ll do pretty much anything you want.”

“Hey, it’s the intruders?! What are you gonna do?” The winged girl asks.

“Give me some money,” I say, gun in one hand and the other held out like a true thief.

“Oh, I would but, uhhh… I don’t have any.”

“Then die,”

“Wait, wait?! Isn’t there something I can do, like-”

“This isn’t a porno, dude.”

“That joke sucked!! Ha, I guess I can’t say anything because I can’t joke to save my life, literally.” She puts a hand over her mouth, “Wait. I just realized! I’m not just King Kamoshida’s. I belong to the sea of human souls too!”

“The fuck does that mean?”

“It means I’m you, and you’re me! I’m Pixie, I’m part of you now!”

“Every time I think I understand what’s going on-” Pixie turns into a ball of light and it hits me in the face, disrupting my train of thought.

“What the hell just happened?” Corvid asks.

“I don’t know!!” Ali says, for once.

“I think Pixie’s my Persona,” I say like I know what happened.

“But I thought Lupin was?”

“They both are, I think.”

Ali just scratches her chin and runs out of the room, sneaking around so we don’t have to fight more than we have to. When we duck into a safe room, we barely get a moment’s rest because as soon as we sit down, we hear the guards outside talking about some Prince. Ali thinks Yuuki wandered back in, so we go and look for him, and sure enough, when we duck our heads into a new room, Yuuki’s fucking crucified.

“So, this is the intruder,” Kamoshida walks up to him, flanked by a few guards, and that disgusting Yuuki-thing, “I can’t believe you mistook my Yuuki for someone like him.”

“What are you going to do to me…?” Is all Yuuki asks.

“I do as I please here. This is my castle, the world of my desires.”

“Please… Don’t make me do anything weird, please…”

“He’s decided to tell me what to do,” Kamoshida looks over to his disgusting toy, “What do you think?”

“He needs to take orders, no matter what they are.” Says that Thing.

“In that case, he should be executed.” Kamoshida nods in Yuuki’s direction, and a guard dressed in gold advances on him, “How should I play with you? Rip out your guts and force-feed them to you?”

“No… Please, just make it fast…” Yuuki shakes his head a little.

“Yuuki!” Corvid runs in, between Yuuki and Kamoshida.

“Ugh. Just when I was about to start enjoying myself.” Kamoshida complains, “How many times are you gonna come back?” He turns to Yuuki, “I bet you’re just like those thieves. You came because you’re pissed at me, huh? I forget that chick’s name, but it’s your fault she jumped, you know.”

“What?” Yuuki whimpers.

“She had to take your place because you couldn’t just take me like I told you to.”

“Shut up…”

“Are you three just going to sit back and enjoy the show?” Kamoshida cackles, then he gets this wicked grin on his face, “Maybe, I’ll start with his clothes!”

“You’re such a perv, Master!” The imitation giggles.

“Yuuki!” Corvid’s voice cuts through, “You can fight this! Don’t let him do this to you!”

“Yeah!” I join in, “You’re better than this piece of human waste!”

“You… You’re right.” Yuuki says, his voice louder than I’ve ever heard it. “I let this dickhead think he owned me for a year and a half. You know what? He doesn’t.”

“ _Ha ha. It’s been a while, huh?_ ” Comes a voice way more feminine than I expected, “ _You’re finally ready to see yourself. Bending for him so you don’t break was always the wrong choice… The other you inside knew that the whole time. I am thou, thou art I. We’re finally able to forge a contract._ ”

“I see it…” A raccoon mask appears on his face, and it looks painless, “Ishikori. No more holding back.”

“ _There you go. Nothing is resolved by restraining yourself._ ” Yuuki grabs the side of his mask and tears it off in one pull, “ _Understand? Then I’ll gladly lend you my strength._ ”

A pillar of fire forms around him, and when it dissipates, Yuuki’s wearing a sort of generic detective outfit in different shades of brown. His Persona is some sort of person with blue skin in a darker blue mini-yukata and a gold headdress with four wings on it covering their eyes and forehead. The Persona is holding a mirror, also with four golden wings on it.

Yuuki kicks a sword out of one of the shadow’s hands and uses it to cut the fake in half. Kamoshida backs away in terror, and the gold guard shields him.

“You know what?!” Yuuki practically screeches, “I’m not your fucking toy, or your punching bag, or yours AT ALL! And neither was anybody else you ruined! I’ll break you like you broke them!”

“How dare you! Enough of your insolence!” Says the one guarding Kamoshida. We decide now’s a good time to to back Yuuki up.

The guard transforms into a demon bigger than all of us combined. I’m nervous, but everybody else seems like they have this, so I hype myself up too. Yuuki gets the first attack, Ishikori holding their mirror up, a spear made of light piercing the demon. I get the next one, making Lupin bash into the demon. Ali and Corvid attack it with magic, but none of us are doing much damage except Yuuki, so we let him take the lead. Soon we get the demon on the ground and All-Out Attack it. It goes down pretty easy, but the fight still left us exhausted.

“Shit!” Kamoshida yells as he realizes he doesn’t have anyone else in the room to kill us, running away like a coward. Good.

“Good god, Yuuki, I thought you were a goner.” Corvid says, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I question, shoving my hand in my pocket for the medicine.

“I’m fine,” Yuuki smiles, wiping his eyes, “Just… Overwhelmed? Excited, maybe.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Ali looks over her shoulder quickly, “A search party’s probably gonna be here soon.”

* * *

Akira walks back to us with sodas, one red and the other two clear.

“I remembered your favorite,” Akira says, handing Yuuki the red one, and me one of the clear ones, “I don’t know what you like, so I got my favorite. If you don’t like it I have money for another.”

“This is fine,” I assure him, twisting the cap open.

“You didn’t get me one!” Alibaba whines.

“How would you even drink it?” Yuuki chuckles, “Oh! Right. I wanted to say… I’m kind of a girl? If you couldn’t tell, with Ishikori talking about ‘the other me within me’ and all.”

“That makes sense,” Akira pulls his mask down to make sure she sees him sticking his tongue out.

“It was obvious the whole time, wasn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely.”

“What should we call you?” I ask, and then clarify, “Your name, not a code name.”

“I haven’t decided yet?” Yuuki puts a hand on her chin, “I want something with a ring to it like this one… I might ask Ishikori, she probably knows.”

“Well,” Alibaba says, climbing onto my shoulders, “I think this concludes the first phantom thieves meeting. Let’s get some rest and meet tomorrow!”

“Oh, oh wait! Yuuki, put your contact stuff in my phone!” I hand my phone to her and she quickly types it in, handing it back to me.

* * *

I run upstairs as fast as I can (I don’t want to have a conversation about how I’m “late” tonight) and put Alibaba on my bed.

She takes one look around and says, “What the hell, this place is a pigsty.”

“Get used to it, I live like this.”

I hear creaking coming up my stairs and I put my head in my hands.

“Why is there a cat here?” Yoshida asks me as soon as he’s up the stairs.

“She followed me. I didn’t want to leave her outside.”

“Okay,” He takes a deep breath, “Okay. You have to take care of her, but you can keep her here.”

“Thank you.” I say with a smile.

He walks back downstairs, mumbling something to himself quietly.

“Is that the ruler of this place?” Alibaba asks.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“He seems nice.”

“I wish.”


	7. An Execution and the First Floor

_[Akira created a group chat with you and Yuuki.]_

_Akira_

_ <We’re still meeting up later right? _

_Yuuki_

_ <shouldn’t you be focusing on classwork? _

_Akira_

_ <Lol _

_ <I’m not even in class get on my level _

_i can’t blame you honestly. for me this is all going in one ear and out the other >  
_

_Akira_

_ <Ok ok anyways! _

_ <Let’s meet on the roof when classes get out I spent time making it not a complete mess and you are all gonna appreciate my hard work _

_Yuuki_

_ <i’m surprised they haven’t locked that place up yet?! _

_ <also thank u. we were gonna do it but i guess we don’t have to now haha _

_“we”? > _

_Yuuki_

_ <oh you know! _

_ <wait no you don’t. i’m sorry i meant student council _

“Sakamoto!” The teacher (I didn’t bother to remember his name and I don’t care) yells, pulling my attention away from my phone, “Is this how you pay attention to your friends when they talk?!”

Instead of letting me answer, he tosses the chalk he was using at me, and I instinctively duck and cover my head. It doesn’t hit me, but it hits the guy behind me with an audible ‘THUNK’. Yuuki snickers quietly.

* * *

Akira’s sitting on one of the desks, his knees pulled up to his chest, when we get on the roof. He puts his legs down once the door closes and leans back, nodding in a silent greeting.

“Were you up here all day?” Yuuki asks, looking unimpressed.

“Possibly,” Akira says.

“He definitely was,” I correct.

“Anyways!” Akira says, waving his arms out, “Let’s go already!”

“Not yet,” Alibaba cuts in, jumping down from who knows where, “We need to prepare more.”

“Where did you appear from, fucking hell,” Akira scratches the back of his head, “Anyways, can’t we just use our Personas? That should be enough.”

“If we underestimate the danger here, we’ll die. Better safe than sorry, like you said.”

“How are we gonna prepare?” Yuuki asks, putting a hand on her chin.

“We need better equipment, and decent medicine. Anything helps.”

“My dad can sell us some medicine,” Akira tilts his head back, “We know a guy who can sell us some fake guns, too… Yuuki, if I give you money and an address, can you get us some stuff while we work things out with my dad?”

“That sounds good!” She smiles.

* * *

“Dad,” Akira pokes his dad in the side, his mask pulled off and a playful smile on his face, “Daddy!”

“What, I’m listening! I have to look at the road, dammit.” His father smacks at his hand softly.

“My friend here has chronic pain,” He gestures vaguely in my direction, “He needs medicine. Could you be the best dad in the world and help him out? Please?”

“Stop lying to me,”

“I’m not!!”

I shift uncomfortably, opting to sit and listen instead of saying anything.

“You really don’t have to lie, Akira, he’s your friend.” He sighs, “You could have just said he wanted painkillers and I would have given them to him anyway.”

“Really?!”

“He still has to pay for them! Just…” He trails off.

“At a reduced price?” Akira grins coyly.

“Yeah, that,”

“You’re the best dad ever!!” Akira cheers, wrapping his arms around his dad.

“Don’t do that! You’re gonna make us crash!” He says as he struggles to keep the car straight.

* * *

“Akira,” Yuuki says as she dumps some fake guns and weapons on one of the desks, “You didn’t tell me she was cute, I got so flustered I couldn’t speak!”

“I didn’t know she was,” He says, picking up a plastic machete and inspecting it, “You can’t reasonably expect me to know which girls you’ll like, you don’t have a type. You like every girl that smiles in your general direction.”

“Don’t tear into me like that so suddenly, god.” She waves her hand at him playfully, leaning over on… An umbrella?

“It’s not going to rain today, Yuuki?” I tilt my head dumbly.

“What? Oh, this is my weapon.” She says like it was obvious.

“An umbrella?”

“Don’t ask me why, I just felt like this was, uh, made for me. Or something.”

“I chose my stuff, can we leave?” Akira cuts in, stretching.

“We have to wait for Alibaba to get here,” I say, looking through the pile.

“I think you should just keep her on you instead of letting her loose when you get here.” Yuuki comments, “Maybe register her as a service cat, and…”

“I heard you guys talking about me?” Alibaba jumps down onto my shoulders.

“Finally,” Akira says, pulling out his phone.

* * *

“So you guys were talking about codenames the other day, right?” Yuuki asks, smoothing out her costume’s jacket, “Do I get to have one?”

“I was about to ask,” Ali says, “But I don’t know what you would be called, your outfit’s kinda generic.”

“Rude!”

“She’s got that mask and a tail,” Corvid says, gesturing to them, “How about Raccoon?”

“That’s more generic than her costume,” I reply, shaking my head.

“If I’m a raccoon, how about Nightcrawler?” Yuuki says, putting a hand on her chin, “That sounds cool, right?”

“Like that superhero?” Corvid crosses his arms.

“I forgot about that… It’s not really what I was going for, but superheros are cool, so I don’t mind.”

“Names aside, we’re working on a deadline here, aren’t we?” Ali cuts in, apparently satisfied with Nightcrawler’s codename, “When do we have to have this done?”

“Uh, May second I think!” Nightcrawler’s expression hardens, “That gives us about two weeks.”

“That’s not a lot of time,” Corvid grumbles, “But we can make it work. Four’s better than three, right?”

“If we all pull our weight we won’t need a lot of time, I think.” I say, trying to sound like a leader and probably failing, “Let’s all do our best, okay?”

“We should get going,” Ali says, “But Ace is right, do your best everyone.”

Our resolve strengthened, we set off back into the palace. Or, we would, if I didn’t hear a voice call out to me:

“Inmate,”

I turn my head and see one of the twin wardens just standing there like nothing. Caroline, I think?

“My Master wants a word with you!” She says, and a blue gate appears behind her, already open, as if beckoning.

“Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do if I don’t go?” I cross my arms.

“Beat the hell out of you, obviously.” She produces her clipboard from nowhere and scribbles something down.

For some reason, I’m too terrified to quip back at her. I so through the door, which leads into the Velvet Room. When I look down I’m wearing my jail clothes again, which is weird because I definitely didn’t change.

“The prisoner, Sakamoto Ryuji, has returned.” Justine announces after a quick look at me.

“Well done. It seems you have _remembered_ my words,” Igor says, “You truly make it worth rehabilitating you.”

“Can we hurry this up? I got business.” I cross my arms at him.

“I’m not attempting to keep you here longer then you have to be. But there are things to be _explained_ ,” He chuckles, “Once you encounter friends who share your aesthetics and discover your place in reality, only then will I explain the rest of it all. Such a day should _not_ be far off.”

Caroline pushes her clipboard through one of the holes in my cell.

“This time, I wish to introduce you to the aid we are providing,” Igor explains, “Due to your potential in wielding the power of the wild card, you can handle more than one Persona. That power holds _infinite_ possibilities. We will assist in nurturing that potential.”

Caroline gives me her pen, and it’s then when I notice what’s on the clipboard; “Execution Form”, and then it has checkboxes next to the names “Pixie” and “Lupin”.

What the fuck?

“To that end, we must execute your Persona.” Igor continues as though it was completely ordinary.

“You can’t do that! You- You just can’t!” I panic, gripping the clipboard for dear life.

“Do not be alarmed. Personas are personalities that exist within you. Thus, you will only be discarding old personalities to have them be reborn as new ones.”

Caroline pushes the clipboard inward so it hits me lightly in the stomach, a silent threat.

“By discarding your old identity, you give way to a new one. Hence, we call that process ‘execution’. Think of it as a fusion between your Personas. Now then, let us try an actual Persona fusion.”

Justine looks at me hard beneath her eyelashes. I take a deep breath and check the box for Pixie, who appears before me with a smile on her face. It fades quickly, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Now, before you select the second Persona, allow me to tell you something greatly important. Do you remember what I told you about forming bonds with your confidants?” He waves his hand, “Personas are the strength of heart. The stronger those bonds are, the stronger your Personas will be. In other words, the effect of your bonds on execution -- or fusion, if you will -- are quite substantial.”

“You’re doing it again! Make more sense!” I demand, clicking my pen at him.

“He’s _not finished_ ,” Justine hisses, brandishing her baton, “Shut up.”

I consider yelling at her for a second before realizing it isn’t worth it. This whole place is a real test of my patience.

“When you fuse a Persona that shares arcana with one of your bonds, it will gain great power,” Igor continues to drone on, “This will be a guiding principle for your forays into fusion. Try not to forget it. Now then, you may select the next Persona.”

There’s no choice here. I check the box next to Lupin’s name, and he appears as well, his empty eye sockets seeming to stare into my soul. Something new appears on the paper. A signature line. I hesitantly sign and give the clipboard back to Caroline. Lupin comes up to my cell as the wardens walk off to where I can’t see them.

“ _I am the other you that exists within,_ ” Lupin says, reaching through the bars and grabbing one of my hands with both of his, “ _Though it may appear that I will disappear in this moment, I will always be by your side._ ”

My face twists as I try not to cry, and Lupin soothingly runs his thumb over my knuckles, just like my mom used to. It figures he knows how to calm me, he is me after all. Caroline and Justine come back in, dragging in huge guillotines, and I only notice because Lupin turns around.

“ _We shall meet again, Ace,_ ” He chuckles, letting go of me, “ _When your fate reaches its conclusion._ ”

Caroline and Justine drag Lupin and Pixie to the guillotines. Pixie’s quaking in her boots, but Lupin just stares. I barely catch Pixie begging for them not to do this, that she doesn’t want to die, as Caroline forces her head into it. Lupin doesn’t wait for Justine. Justine snaps her fingers, and the blades come down, slicing their heads off in a flurry of lights, which form into a new shape I haven’t seen before: a demon (alien?) in a cup.

“ _I’m Agathion!_ ” Says the demon with the most obnoxious voice I’ve ever heard, “ _I’m your mask now! Use me! Use me!_ ”

They killed Lupin for this?

Agathion transforms into a mask and disappears and Caroline and Justine pull the guillotines back out of the room.

“Ah, how impressive. A new Persona has been borne from the body and blood of the old. It shall be your strength.” Igor taps his fingers on the table as he speaks, as if taunting me.

“Its worth will be make clearer when you return to the field of battle.” Caroline says, tearing the page I signed off her clipboard and folding it.

“Gather Personas, and bring them here. Gather a great many, and execute them, and continue to give birth to even stronger Personas. Developing your power as such will play an integral role in your stand against ruin.”

“So that your rehabilitation goes well, we have a variety of rituals to choose in regard to executions.”

“And depending on the effort you put in,” Justine chimes in, “Our Master might consider further development of new rituals. Cry tears of joy, inmate.”

“Your heart is steadily gaining the strength of rebellion,” Igor starts again, “It seems your rehabilitation is proceeding smoothly. A joyous fact, indeed. In anticipation of this, I have prepared a gift for you. I hope that you shall accept it.”

As he finishes, I suddenly get a migraine. I figure he probably did that. Dick.

“That is a thief’s skill, allowing one to tap into their sixth sense and see what is hidden in the dark. I believe you can handle it now. May you continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation.”

“Now then, if you have any requests, we will heed them.” Caroline tells me.

“How do I leave?” I question.

“Behind you.”

“I could have left the whole time?”

“You could have tried.”

* * *

As I walk through the gate back to the palace, I find Corvid waving a hand in front of my face.

“Anyone there?” He chuckles, obviously trying to hide that he’s nervous.

“What?” I tilt my head at him.

“Ace! What the hell! You were standing there for like, five whole minutes.” Alibaba puts her hands on her hips.

“You didn’t see the gate? Or the girl?” I gesture vaguely at the entrance, and Caroline seeing as she’s returned.

“Should we leave for now? Are you okay?” Nightcrawler presses the back of her hand to my forehead. I wince, it feels like she’s poking a bruise.

“Stop! I’m not a baby!”

“He doesn’t feel warm… What do you think?”

“He’s probably fine.” Corvid shrugs, “Tell us if you don’t feel good, okay?”

* * *

This place is mostly closed corridors and spiral staircases so far. Except for the room we just entered, which is big and square and mostly caged off. My headache goes away, and my vision goes all weird. Something on the cage glows blue and I go over to it.

“Ace, what’s with your face?” Corvid suddenly asks.

“I dunno, I can’t see it. What’s up?” I say as I pull the chain-looking part.

Nightcrawler takes her mask off and Ishikori appears, holding her mirror out in front of me so I can see myself.

I have an eye on my forehead, staring me down intensely.

“Huh?” I tilt my head in the mirror, experimentally blinking it, “I guess I have a third eye now.”

“You guess??” Nightcrawler says, weirded out, sending Ishikori away with a quick ‘thank you’.

“I didn’t have it this morning. I don’t know, what do you want me to tell you? That a long nosed man gave me a migraine?”

“Ace,” Ali grabs her head, “How do you just… suddenly have a third eye? How does that even happen?”

I walk around the cage and pull another glowing chain, my companions silently following as if waiting for my answer. The cage’s bars retract into the ground, exposing what looks like a sitting area with a table in the middle.

“Oh, okay.” Corvid says like it was an answer to the question.

Nightcrawler walks up to the table, picking up a yellowed paper from it and looking over it.

“What is it?” Ali calls.

“A map!” She turns it around to show us, pointing in the lower left, “I think we’re right here.”

Corvid walks over and points to some text written in the upper left, “It says it’s only half the map.”

“That should be enough to get us through most of this place.” Ali crosses her arms.

“No reason to stay here, then. Let’s go.” Nightcrawler carefully folds the map up so it can fit in her pocket.

In the next room, we’re in some place over the foyer. There’s nowhere to go but up, so I climb on top of a shelf on the wall.

“How did you do that without a ladder? That was cool!” Nightcrawler gushes.

“We can all do stuff like that. It’s like… special thief powers.” Corvid explains, jumping up after me, “How about you try?”

“But I’m short!”

“Ace is short, too. The worst that could happen is you’ll bang your head on it, and we have medicine for that.”

Nightcrawler takes in a deep breath and jumps, barely making it, but proud of herself anyway. We keep going up, walking around on the rafters.

“Wow, it really is like we’re phantom thieves…” Corvid says quietly as we jump across.

On the other side, there’s a safe room. We take a quick break to recover and then get back to going through long corridors and going up stairs. When we finally get to almost the end of this floor, what’s waiting for us is a locked door.

“How about we cut it open?” Corvid brandishes his machete.

“How about we don’t?” Ali puts her hand up.

“Too late!” Corvid says, slashing at it, then quickly realizing his mistake and trying to pull it out of the wood, “Shit.”

“Hey, guys!” Nightcrawler calls from up on a shelf, “I found a vent we can crawl through!”

“Gross,” Corvid says, getting his weapon unstuck and jumping up to her, “Let’s do it.”

There’s a safe room waiting for us once we get through and up for stairs. Nightcrawler digs the map out of her pocket and looks it over.

“We’re making good progress,” She says, smiling a little, “But I think if we stay any later it’s going to get dark before I can get on the train.”

“Let’s go, then.” I say simply.

“But we’re so early in!” Ali complains.

“Teammates come first.” I cross my arms defiantly.

“You sound like a real leader.” Corvid says with a chuckle.

“I am a real leader!”

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/pyroiand)   
>  [ask.fm](https://ask.fm/pegoryu)   
>  [tumblr](http://combustiblecutie.tumblr.com/)   
>  [deviantart](https://pegoryu.deviantart.com/)   
>  [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/demonskull)   
> 
> 
> please comment on what you think i could do better, i want to improve in any way i can


End file.
